Certain Fury (1985-USA) **½
Enjoyably trashy revamp of The Defiant Ones with Tatum O'Neal and Irene Cara as girls on the run from the law (and assorted scumbags).
It ain't good cinema, but as violent, sleazy 2 AM cable fodder it does the job.

Visually extravagant sci-fi actioner is good entertaining fun, though how Chris Tucker got work after this film is anyone's guess - I know he's meant to be OTT but there's annoying and then there's his DJ character. Sheesh.

Get Out (2017-USA) **½
A young black man goes to visit his white girlfriend's parents and finds something's not quite right...
Clever, but far-fetched and somewhat over-praised horror satire; scored big with US audiences, no doubt in part due to its topicality.

Baywatch (2017-USA) **
Someone evidently thought it would be a good idea to upgrade earnest TV adventure show into a glib, foul-mouthed R-rated comedy.
Alas, they were wrong. The humour is weak, mostly punctuated with an over-abundance of f-bombs (someone really needs to tell contemporary screenwriters that simply saying 'fuck' isn't funny). The action is ludicrously phoney (you have to wonder if the actors ever set foot in the ocean?).
The appeal of the show was more than T&A jiggle, which seems to have been lost on the filmmakers (although there's no nudity except for the penis of a corpse, which about sets the tone).

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016-USA-China) **½
The critics had their knives out, but this admittedly routine sequel is perfectly acceptable,
even if it lacks the original's edge.

I'm All Right Jack (1959-UK) **½
Over-plotted, lackadaisical satire of British Industry and the Unions.
There's some wit and a cream of local comic talent to enjoy, but the conclusion is terribly weak.

The Belko Experiment (2017-USA-Colombia) **
80 office workers are trapped in a Colombian tower block and ordered to kill each other.
Genuinely frightening premise succumbs to comical levels of bloodshed.
Good cast for this sort of hysterical splatter schlock.

Markgway wrote:Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016-USA-China) **½
The critics had their knives out, but this admittedly routine sequel is perfectly acceptable,
even if it lacks the original's edge.

I had exact same thoughts. I think I rated it 3/5.

The weakest part for me was the last 15 minutes. Recently I've seen several new action films where they save a really boring fist fight (or something comparable) to the end. I don't know if its supposed to be more "personal" or "heavy" or what, but it usually pales in comparison to much better action scenes that came before it. The latest Mission Impossible (which I otherwise loved) did something like that, too. And in a way Baby Driver too.

Can't agree; I'm one of those that prefers a good old-fashioned scrap over a BIG climax (especially if it means CGI). There's more intensity about a one on one than a bunch of guys shooting a bunch of guns at a bunch of things that explode.

LOGAN (2017-USA) ***
A departure from the Marvel formula (at least the Disney brand of same), The Wolverine goes all R-rated with copious amounts of slashy, stabby violence and gore, and plenty of 'fucks'. Unlike the over-rated Deadpool, this is a primarily a drama, and takes itself seriously, with limited comic book concessions, and a more restrained approach to CGI. Takes a while to warm up (and warm to...) but give it a chance and it's an above average movie. On the negative side, I did have a nagging feeling that many of the references to past events, stated and implicit, were going over my head -- presumably shit which happened in previous X-Men movies I haven't seen. For that reason I can only recommend this as a stand alone with reservations.

Catfight (2016-USA) **½
Absurdist black comedy in which two women (Sandra Oh, Anne Heche) allow their hatred to spill over into physical violence.
The sour relationship between the leads, and the mirroring of their circumstances works, but the political satire doesn't, and the filmmakers clearly had no idea how to end the picture.

Markgway wrote:Can't agree; I'm one of those that prefers a good old-fashioned scrap over a BIG climax (especially if it means CGI). There's more intensity about a one on one than a bunch of guys shooting a bunch of guns at a bunch of things that explode.

I do see your point, and when a scene is well done I can agree with you. What I feel ultimately has more to do with the excecution than the scale, but in any case I feel many recent films have saved the least stylish, most unoriginal action scene to the end. The kind of "let's just have the villain and the hero grunt and exchage punches in a cut-to-death shakycam shots" finale just came to my mind as one example. I'm getting a little bored of that, especially if the scene is long and you don't really care for the characters that much. In that case it would be more fun to see the villain beaten with one punch than strech the finale to 10 minutes...

Good Kill (2014-USA) **½
Interesting moral-psychological drama in which Vegas-based drone pilot Ethan Hawke struggles with his conscience as he drops bombs on suspected Taliban from thousands of miles away. His (inevitable) family troubles are less interesting and too often detract from the real story. Worth a look though.

The Demon (1979-South Africa-The Netherlands) *½
Incoherent, plodding slasher in which a masked maniac with razor claws attacks random people. That's it as far as plot goes.
Not the worst the genre has to offer, and not especially gory, but even dumb horrors should make some sense.

47 Meters Down aka In the Deep (2016-UK-Dominican Republic-USA) **½
Two young women (attractive, natch) are trapped with limited oxygen in a shark cage.
Acceptable treatment of scary, simple premise; won't linger in the memory.

Alien 3 (Assembly Cut) (USA, 1992) [BD] - 4.5/5
Studio interference and David Fincher walking out of the picture may be among the reasons why this film remains so underrated. It's a dear film for me as I spent half of my childhood renting the theatrical cut VHS and trying to get the girl upstairs to watch it with me (never succeeded, but hey, I was 11 and she was 10). The assembly cut, which extends the film by 30 minutes and entirely changes some sequences is even better, with far more attention given to the extremely good characters and the fascinating, religious prisoner community. There are also some fantastic cyber punk vibes when the company men appear at the end. Yes, there are a few flaws and a bit too much running towards the end, but the film is excellent, nearly as good as the first two.